


Her Heart on Her Sleeve

by tattoosandscars (FangIsland)



Category: Australian Comedians RPF, The Umbilical Brothers
Genre: Abuse, Domestic, Gen, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2014-09-11
Packaged: 2018-02-16 22:29:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2286756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangIsland/pseuds/tattoosandscars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Umbilical Brothers saved her once before. Now they must do it again, except this time they're aware of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Heart on Her Sleeve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This work has not been beta-d, and has only been edited from the original dream on which it was based only to make it more coherent.  
> It may also be worth noting that the girl is a representation of me, as is her husband.

   The Umbilical Brothers were sitting at the bar of the King's Inn, celebrating with their traditional post-show drinks. The bartender served their pints and continued drying up beer glasses. He looked up from the drying rack as a girl with dark, cropped hair walked in and sat down near the Umbies. Her usual black tank-top and jeans proudly displayed an array of scars and tattoos on her arms and chest.

   "Usual?" the bartender asked her, grinning at the regular.

   "Yeah, cheers Jack. Plus a shot of whatever's open, please," she replied, leaning her forearms on the cold bar.

   "Rough night, huh?" Jack pulled up a shot glass and a coloured bottle from behind the bar. He poured the clear liquid into the glass and handed it to her. She downed it in one with barely a shudder. Jack left her with her usual pint and went to tend to the comic pair. He saw the shaved one glance the girl's way before turning his back to his curly-haired friend.

   "What's the girl's story, if you don't mind my asking?" the shaved one asked. _Shane_ , Jack remembered his name from one of the posters for their show, _the other one must be Dave._

   "Aussie in England. Married an abusive chain-smoker. Escapes him every night by coming here," Jack explained with a shrug. "Why'd you ask?" He narrowed his eyes, suddenly suspicious.

   "Sorry, sorry," Shane backpedalled, "she just looks familiar." Dave surreptitiously looked at the girl who was staring into the foam of her drink. One of her tattoos caught his eye, and he squinted at it. He elbowed Shane.

   "Check out the tattoo at the top of her right arm," he muttered under his breath. The bartender looked as well.

   "Is that…" Shane started, slightly disbelieving.

   "Our autographs? Yeah!" Dave finished excitedly. Jack looked at them with a raised eyebrow. Then he froze as the door to his pub banged open. Over Shane's shoulder, Jack saw a smoke-stack of a man approaching the girl. He swore under his breath. Seeming to sense the apprehension in the room, Shane and Dave buried their minds in their beer. The girl knew exactly what was happening.

   "Quicker than last time," she muttered.

   "Time to come home, love," the man growled, blowing grey smoke through his lips.

   "Let me finish my drink first," she replied, swirling the last of the liquid in her glass. He made a grab for her, but she hopped off the bar stool, and he clutched at thin air. She emptied the glass into her throat and set it down on the bar. "Don't ruin Jack's pub, hon, let's take this outside.

   "Let's take this home."

   She ignored him and went outside, her husband following her angrily. Before he stepped outside, he looked back at Dave and Shane with a glare, semi-recognising them, before slamming the door behind him.

   "That was her first tattoo, you know, your autographs. She told me about you two. You were her heroes. Still are, I s'pose," Jack said, breaking the silence.

   "I think we've met her after a few of our shows, but she never showed us her tattoo," Shane said, slightly amazed. There was a bang of something hitting the outside of the pub's walls. Jack ducked his head, trying to ignore the noise.

   "What's he doing?" David asked, looking towards the door.

   "What d'you think?" Jack grunted. There was another thud. David looked horrified and grabbed Shane's arm.

   "That's horrible! How can you not do anything?" David cried, eyes wide. Jack just wiped down another glass.

   "Fuck, I can't believe this," Shane pulled Dave with him and they went outside, intending to stop the abuse.

   As the door swung closed behind them, they searched the alley. The girl was leant against a wall, the man towering over her. She was panting, but refused to cry out in pain as blood trickled down her face. She'd protected her tattoos carefully, and her face had taken most of the beating. Her hand hovered over the tattoo of the Umbilical Brothers.

   The man's fist was raised, and Shane ran out towards him and pushed him away. Dave shot out and grabbed the girl's wrist, pulling her away. While Shane kept the man at bay, Dave opened the pub door, but the girl didn't go through, saying that she didn't want to ruin the King Inn. Sheltering her body with his own, Dave led her out of the alley and onto the street. Shane had taken a few hits, but was successfully stopping the man from advancing. When Dave was away, Shane ducked another punch and sprinted after his friend. The man was too slow, and Dave and Shane had hidden themselves and the girl before he'd even stumbled out of the alley.

   They were pressed against a brick wall just inside a side street, shielded by a dumpster. Dave was holding the girl against the wall with his body, and could feel her shaking, her breathing irregular. Shane had his arms wrapped around both of them until they heard the man's shuffling footsteps and constant stream of swearwords die away completely. Shane let go, and they all stepped out and away from the bin, happy to breathe in the fresh air instead of the stale stench from the bin.

   "Hey, are you okay?" Dave asked the girl softly, brushing his fingers on her back to encourage her to look at him. She turned around obligingly, wiping blood off her face with trembling fingers. She smiled slightly, avoiding his eyes, and her hand fluttered over her tattoo again. She nodded. Dave tried to catch her eyes, but she wouldn't let him. Sensing that she was trying to hide something, he stepped up to her and gently lifted her chin, forcing her to finally look at him properly. Shane walked over and could see tears threatening her eyes.

   "What's wrong?" Shane asked, taking the hand on her tattoo in his. She smiled, but this time it was bright, and it shone nothing but happiness and gratitude.

   "It's just…you two are my lifelines. I'm sorry if this sounds weird, but you two literally mean more to me than my own life and anyone else in it. I owe you so much," she said, and the tears began running down her cheeks, tracking through blood.

   Without another word, Dave bundled her into a tight hug, dragging Shane in with a spare hand.

   "Love the tattoo, by the way," Shane whispered.

   The girl grinned. _Not once_ , she thought to herself, _but twice._


End file.
